First car loan...

First car loan...

Hi everybody!

I'm going for my first auto loan sometime this month and I've been pretty active on making sure everything on my credit reports are correct. I'm 21 and I have 2 years of active credit history, which has me a little uneasy and is what I think could be my undoing when trying to get approved. It's not possible for me to get a co-signer so I'm hoping for the best. My true FICO scores are TU 778 and EQ 710. I don't know where to get the Experian FICO since all I can get are fakos (760, 780). I know Vantage score doesn't mean much, but for all 3 credit bureaus I'm looking at 753 across the board. What does everybody think about my chances? I plan to check credit unions first before any banks, since I want to step onto the dealer lot pre-approved (hopefully).

I've read and searched on the forums for a while and learned a lot of information! This site is full of it! I just wanted to know what some people thought about my situation.

Re: First car loan...

Auto-loans are among the easiest of any type to obtain, even easier than a secured credit card in some instances.

For you, it's just going to boil down to how much you can drop for a downpayment, and what your income is currently. If you're at non-zero for either of these two categories, and you're not trying to finance an outrageously expensive vehicle compared to your income, you shouldn't have much trouble.

Re: First car loan...

I'm looking at $7,000 down, maybe more if I get a good deal for my current car. I'm pulling in around $1,600 a month while in school which I think is fine for a student, and I'm looking at a $25,000 car loan. I guess all the stuff I read online is either really good or really bad stories, so it's got me a little un-easy.

Re: First car loan...

With your credit rating you shouldnt have a problem getting approved at a decent rate. The only concern is your income, they will approve you but will have a harder time giving you that much. I was in the exact same situation you were, my income was around 24k back then and i was putting down 3k. I tried to purchase a 17k vehicle but no bank would allow that. They sent my app to 12 different banks, in the end they all said pretty much the same thing, the most they would finance was 11-12k.

I ended up getting another car that was 13k (10k after my downpayment) and got it financed no problem, i wasnt very happy though because i didnt get what i wanted, but i needed a vehicle asap. Also i would reccomend apping at your CU before you go to the dealarship, dont let the dealership handle financing if you can avoid it, youll get a better rate plus avoid a whole bunch of inquiries( even if they all count as 1)

Re: First car loan...

I went to a credit union today and I'll find out tomorrow if I was approved. I also went to a dealer today as well and I looked around to see what they could do for me and they pretty much laughed in my face and stopped being helpful when I said no cosign what so ever. They wouldnt even consider putting my app though unless I had $7,000 down (which I knew anyways). I laughed right back at them and said, "I see there's no deal here and you're not interested in selling any cars." They had the same face I did when they laughed at me (surprised).

On a side note I was talking to the manager in his office with the chart of who sold what car and how many and on average each person sold 4 cars this month out of 15 employees. It's pretty slow for a guy claiming they cant keep cars in stock. I'm goning to a few other dealerships, but I can see that dealership wants to play some games brefore they sell anybody a car.

Either way I'm still putting $7,000 down so at this point its all about the finacing deal and the price of the car, which they are adamant on not moving (they will).

Re: First car loan...

I got approved today at 3.24 percent with $7,000 down. They pulled my lowest credit score (EQ 710) and it's for a 5 year loan. I got the loan though GTE Federal Credit Union. I live right outside of Tampa, Florida if anybody searches this and see's it.

Re: First car loan...

aj-crognale wrote:

I got approved today at 3.24 percent with $7,000 down. They pulled my lowest credit score (EQ 710) and it's for a 5 year loan. I got the loan though GTE Federal Credit Union. I live right outside of Tampa, Florida if anybody searches this and see's it.

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Congratulations on your new ride. Hope you enjoy it. What did you get?

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION: All FICO® Score products made available on myFICO.com include a FICO® Score 8, along with additional FICO® Score versions. Your lender or insurer may use a different FICO® Score than the versions you receive from myFICO, or another type of credit score altogether. Learn more

FICO, myFICO, Score Watch, The score lenders use, and The Score That Matters are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation. Equifax Credit Report is a trademark of Equifax, Inc. and its affiliated companies. Many factors affect your FICO Score and the interest rates you may receive. Fair Isaac is not a credit repair organization as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act. Fair Isaac does not provide "credit repair" services or advice or assistance regarding "rebuilding" or "improving" your credit record, credit history or credit rating. FTC's website on credit.